Searching for the next Tigers fan favorite

AP PhotoThird baseman Brandon Inge is undoubtedly popular, but should he leave via free agency, who would take his place as the Tigers fan favorite?

Being the "fan favorite" is the most underrated backhanded compliment in sports.

In a perfect world, the fan favorite would logically be the best player. But instead, this designation is given to someone on the team who is, admittedly, better at sports than us, but not great enough to warrant all the attention and jersey sales they're receiving.

In the few games I've attended this year, the two most popular jerseys are probably Miguel Cabrera, the best player, and Brandon Inge, the de facto fan favorite after Curtis Granderson was traded away.

Inge's batting splits this season are .261/.337/.412, which are all above his career averages. His all-or-nothing defense still evens out to be useful on the field. But that's not why he's so popular. He's a nice guy. There are stories of him being extremely accessible. He'll visit children in the hospital. And somehow he can pull off "Teach Me How To Dougie" as his at bat song. Fan freaking favorite.

He's 33 years old -- dangerously close to the point in biological progression at which ballplayers drop off dramatically. It seems likely that the Tigers will bring back Inge as their third baseman. Or Peralta. But not both.

But with all this discussion of Inge put on waivers ("OMG! A typical baseball procedure in August happened to the fan favorite. Panic!"), one might need to prepare for the possibility that Inge will be traded or sign as a free agent with another team in 2011.

It would hurt to lose fan favorites in consecutive seasons (although Austin Jackson's smooth defense has made people forget about Curtis Whatzhisface), but the state is strong enough to look at this team square in the face, zero in on that one guy who's probably the 12th best player on the team, and make him "their Tiger."

So remember, the main prerequisites for being a fan favorite:

• Good at baseball, but not great at baseball• Likable by fans and the media• More likable as a person than they are good at baseball

And if it's not Inge, then who could it be? Here are the strongest possibilities:

Armando Galarraga

His almost-perfect game was nonetheless a dominant 88-pitch, one-hit shutout that ranks as one of the best pitching performances by anyone this year. And yet ... he only has four wins this year. I'm basically starting to believe that he's a career No. 5 or maybe No. 4 starter, but the way he handled that missed call with the zen of a demigod … the fans can respect that.

But what's working against him is that he's a starting pitcher. You won't see him every day in the lineup, and that's tough for the fans to get behind. When you buy tickets in advance, you only have a 20 percent chance of seeing your favorite player? Not everyone will go for that. (In fact, this may be why utility players are so fun to root for. They'll appear in the lineup somewhere, sometime, every day.)

Will Rhymes

He's coming on strong, and if he makes the team next year, Rhymes is gonna be a popular little buddy. He's already getting the fan-favorite treatment somewhat; his 4-for-5, three-run performance Sunday made him the Fox Sports Player of the Game.

He's got the hair (It's Magglioesque). He's got the great name. Say it with me: Will Rhymes. Will Rhymes! It's increasingly fun with every additional mention. These are important factors to being a fan favorite.

The thing is, despite his speed, his singles and his competent defense, I think the team would rather try to find somebody that can actually hit a home run off something other than a poorly-located Double-A fastball.

However, this 27-year-old, 5-foot-9 (the same height as Red Sox fan fave Dustin Pedroia) bottle rocket of an athlete just might have what it takes to be a backup middle infielder -- another key in selling shirtseys to the female demographic.

Alex Avila

He was probably more popular during his brief few weeks in '09, bashing five homers in 61 at-bats. This year he has as many jacks in 206 at bats, which might be disappointing enough to take him of the fan favorite radar.

But consider: Laird doesn't seem to be a guy the Tigers want to keep around (especially since he's established temporary residence below the .200 batting level), so that'll likely give Avila even more starts next year. Fans will like that.

What's working against him, however: his dad Al Avila is the assistant general manager. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but there's always a stigma applied to the coach's son, and it also applies to being the assistant GM's son. We never really liked that kid growing up. Of COURSE the coach's son bats first, pitches, and never has to carry the cooler of Capri Sun.

Danny Worth

Hey, remember him? Even though he's on the disabled list, he has enough baseball skills to be another light-hitting, defensively-sound shortstop. His name is also rather wholesome. Reminds you of one of The Beaver's friends. And not the one who gets into adorable mischief. The choirboy one.

Johnny Damon

He's gone from All-Star center fielder for a World Series-winning team to occasional left fielder of a World Series-winning team to aging DH for an OK team. But he's a venerable professional, always seems to be the player to provide postgame quotes, and has fans across the country. That, friends, is a consummate fan favorite. But like Inge, there's no certainty that he'll return, as much as he says he wants to come back.

Ryan Raburn

Hahahahaha. [wipes tear] I'm sorry. But no, he's having a good August.

Don Kelly

Well, his defense is pretty excellent. And his hitting isn't all
that great. And he has the Craig Counsell/Matthew Broderick/Michael
Cera-type eternal baby face. He looks like he's 22, but he's actually
30. He hits home runs more often than he shaves. This all helps him.

Ramon Santiago

This cat has been around, it seems like, forever. And he falls into the light-hitting middle infielder category. He's a recognizable name, and he switch hits, which is neat! I mean, it doesn't exactly make one a superstar at baseball, but ambidexterity is remarkable to some.

This is the case for every closer. To some, Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley will always be synonymous with giving up Kirk Gibson's walkoff home run in the '88 World Series. And the ageless Mariano Rivera had a blown save and loss in Game 7 of the 2001 Fall Classic. As good as Oakland closer Huston Street might be, he'll always be known in Detroit as serving up the walkoff home run to Magglio Ordoñez in the 2006 ALCS. So we're usually prone to remember the ninth innings that don't go the closer's way and provide their fans the most angst. I don't know why we do this.

Except ... Valverde isn't just a closer with the occasional bout of needless drama. It's his routine. As he's about to enter the game, he takes a swig of water, exits the bullpen, spits the water into three beams, slaps his leg, jogs to the infield, slaps his leg again, walks to the mound, and circles it. (I've also seen him skip over the dirt on the basepaths at the end of the eighth inning, as if they were hot coals.)

The celebrations, the dancing, and the overall exuberance of a little kid who can't believe he made outs as a pitcher. These are overwhelmingly fan-favorite-type rituals.

Except for being a closer. That's not very fan-favorite-y. Maybe he can play shortstop.

Matt Sussman posts irregular articles on the Tigers every week at MLive.com. Follow him on Twitter: @suss2hyphens